Japanese Fiber Artist Tetsuo Kusama to Speak at USU's Communitas Lecture Series

LOGAN, Utah – The Department of Art + Design will welcome Tetsuo Kusama, distinguished Japanese fiber artist to the Communitas Lecture Series at 5 p.m. on March 20 in the Russell/Wanlass Performance Hall. The lecture series, in its eighth year, brings artists, scholars, and designers to USU to share their experiences and their work with students. Hearing from and meeting these visitors fosters a larger community that includes our students, faculty, and the larger professional art world that students will enter after graduation.

Born in Tokyo in 1946, Kusama has been recognized internationally for his innovative use of textiles, incorporating vibrant colors and intricate designs into fabric sculptures and installations.

His work explores the interplay between texture, form, and movement, bridging traditional and modern techniques.

“He has a very unique background culturally, growing up in Japan,” said Professor and Sculpture Area Coordinator Ryoichi Suzuki. “In selecting him for Communitas, I thought it would be very interesting for USU art students to be exposed to a totally different medium expression from a different culture.”

After graduating from Musashino Art University, Tetsuo Kusama went to work for Kawashima Textile in Kyoto, where he learned about the new weaving techniques that were emerging in Europe and the United States at the time.

He studied at the graduate school of Cranbrook Academy of Art, and from the 1970s, while traveling back and forth between Japan and the U.S., exhibited his works at the Lausanne Tapestry Biennale and other exhibitions, and actively pursued the possibility of public art by installing work in public spaces such as halls and hospitals.

“For a long time, textile art was more female dominated, medium-wise, until more recent contemporary art,” said Suzuki. “I think that's how textile art has changed over the years, and I thought that would be interesting to learn.”

In recent years, he has received international acclaim, including consecutive awards at the International Fiber Art Biennale in China. Kusama came to Okayama Prefecture in 1993 with the opening of

Okayama Prefectural University, where he worked as a supervisor until his retirement in 2011 to train future generations, and now continues his creative activities at his studio in Akaiwa, Okayama.

“Textile as a medium is still unique in the way there are few artists I know of who use textile for their art,” said Suzuki. “[Kusama] uses a very precise geometric design but with soft material. I think it's very interesting.” The Communitas Lecture Series is a set of visiting artists, scholars, and designers. This series is free and open to the public! For more information, visit the online calendar listing.